Braille slate



April 7,4 1931. R, BROWN BRAILLE SLATE Filed July 5, 1922sV Patented Apr. 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE y .ROBERT BROWN, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA BRAILLE SLATE Application filed July 5, 1928. Serial No. 290,555.

The `invention relates to an p improved Bra-ille slate for use by the blind for holding y a sheet of paper while groups oi embossed and to equip the device with means tor holding a sheet ot' paper and for feeding the same in position to be embossed a` distance of a line or row of embossing at each operation et the paper, whereby the present device with a single row of groups of indentations may be operated as tast if not more rapidly than the ordinary Braille slate having from two to Vfour rows of indentations.

Another object of the invention is to prol vide paper Ji`eeding means adapted to be operated to feed the paper the required distance by a single movement of the finger and capable of automatically returning to its initial position as soonas relieved ot the pressure of the hand.

Another object of lthe invention is to provide a Braille slate ot this character` which after a sheet of paper has been embossed on one side, will permit the paper to be reversed for embossing on the opposite side without liability of injuring any of the embossed portions oi' the paper.

It is also an object of the invention. to provide means for enabling the paper to be accurately positioned by the blind in the device for embossing on the front and rea-r. faces of the sheet so that after one face of vide a Braille slate with an extension having' means for enabling the blind to write with pen and ink on a straight line` and adapted to enable the person writing to readily tell by the feel oi the pen on the paper the proper direction for pen and ink writing so that the words will not extend either above `or below a substantially straight line.

It is also an object of the invention to equip the Braille slate with a simple, practical and easily operated device adapted to punch or cut a slit` in the sheet of paper so that a number of sheets may be readily bound Jpogether by a paper fastener of the McGill With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and set forth in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the forni, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resortedtowithout depart-ing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a Braille slate constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the device taken substantially on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken on substantially the line 1e- 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the Braille slate. l

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of a portion of the lower plate.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view illustrating the construction of the punching device.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view ofthe upper portion ofthe Braille slate showing a sheet of paper having projections on both sides of the sheet.`

In the accompan ing drawing in which is` illustrated the pre erred embodiment of the invention the improved Braille slate com prises in itsconstruction upper and lower plates 1 and 2 of substantially oblong form designed to be constructed of strong steel or any other suitable material and the said plates 1 and 2 are hinged together at 3 at one of the longitudinal edges of the device. Any suitable form of lhinge joint may, of course, be employed and the hinged edges of the upper and lower plates constitute the top of the Braille slate. The lower'plate 2 is provided at the other longitudinal edge with an extension 4 which is located at the bottom of the Braille slate and the said bottom plate is provided adjacent its ends with depressions 5 forming raised terminal portions 6 and providing shoulders 7 which form guides for the side edges of a sheet of paperwhich in the operation of the Braille slate is placed between the upper and lower plates 1 and 2 and is fed forwardly from the bottom to the top of the device by means hereinafter described. The depression spaces the paper receiving portion of the lower plate from the lower face of the upper plate to provide an intervening space 8 which in practice is designed to be sulcient to prevent injury tothe embossed portions of the paper passing between the upper and 'lower plates and at the same time permits the'upper plate to lit iirmly vagainst theterminal portions 6 of the lower plate without liability of any pressure exerted on the upper plate injuring the embossed characters of the paper passing between the plates.

rIhe lower plate is provided adjacent the lower longitudinal edge of the upper plate with a row of indentations`9 arranged'in groups inthe usual manner and located below apertures 10 in the upper plate curresponding with the groups of indentations in the lower plate. The apertures are provided at their side edges with lthe usual recesses 11 for enabling the stylus to be accurately positioned with respect to the indentations 9 for embossing a sheet of paper. Any desired number of groups of indentations may be providedandthe last group atthe left hand end of the row is preferably provided with two indentations for enabling the hyphen to be indicated at the end of the row when desired. The indentations are produced by a stylus 12 of the usual form and the characters are embossed Von the sheet of paper while operating the stylus from the right hand end ofy the row of groups fof indentations to the left hand yend sothat when theembossed sheet is reversed thefem-y bossed characters Vmayy be read from `left to right .the same.v as by printing. After a sheet ofk paper has been embossed on one side it may be reversed and embossed on theV other side and to enable the paper to be accurately positionedi inthe Braille slate so upper plate over the indentations of the lower plate the'upper plate is provided at the hinged edge with a longitudinal recess 13 terminating short of the ends of the upper plate and of depth corresponding to the width of the rows of embossed characters.

The eXtreme upper edge 13a of the upper plate at the end portions of the said plate at the ends of the said recess 13 forms a guide for the sheet when first placing the same within the Braille slate before either side of the paper has been embossed and after one side ofthe sheet of paper has been embossed it is reversed and the longitudinal edge of the recess 13 serves as a guide for placing the paper in the Braille slate so that the blank spaces between the rows of embossed characters will occur in proper position to be ein bossed. These two guiding means, the eX- treme upper edge of the top plate and the inner longitudinal edge of the recess 18, enable the rows of embossing on the two sides of a sheet of paper to be staggered, the rows of embossing on the rear face of the sheet occurring between the rows of embossing on the front race of the sheet. This will enable both sides of a sheet of paper to be. embossed without the embossing of one side mutilating the embossed characters of the other side of the sheet or otherwise interfering with the same. The space ,8 Vbetween the upper and lower plates is designed to be suiiicient to prevent the embossed characters of either side of a sheet `from being injured in passing through the said space between the upper and lower plates. Any other suitable means, however, may be employed for effecting this result such as by grooving or channeling the upper and lower plates in line with the indentations and apertures, but in practice the shoulders 7 may be made of suiiicient height to provide the necessary space between the upper and lower plates. The raising and low ering of the upper plate will open and close the slate, and the raising of said plate will carry with it the upper yroller and release the` paper and thereby permit ready adjustment of the sheet. Also the raising of the upper plate will expose to the writer the embossing without removing the sheet, as the sheet will be amply retained in place by the spaced hinges whichconnect the upper and lower plates and which are spaced apart to provide a passage for the sheet.

'A sheet of paper is accurately fed the proper distance to form the successive row-s of embossed characters by means of a paper feeding device comprising upper and lower rollers 14 and 15 arranged in pairsand located adjacent the ends of the plates in position for gripping and holding a sheet of paper adjacent to the side edges thereof. that the blank'spacesbetween the spaced rowsof embossed charactersmay .be succes-y sively brought beneath'the apertures of the.

The rollers 14 and 15 may be constructed of rubber, metal or any other suitable material and the lower rollers 15 which areprefer- Aer ably smaller than the upper rollers 14 may be conveniently mounted in bearing recesses 16 formed in the lower pla-te and having openings `at the upper face of the lower plate of less diameter than the rollers 15 for confining thelatter in the bearing recesses. The rollers 15 project slightly above the upper face of the lower plate so as to positively engage the paper at the lower face thereof and in assembling the lower rollers the recesses may be closed at the upper portion to confine the rollers 15 in the recesses after the same have been placed therein. The upper rollers let which extend through slots 14 in the upper plate are mounted on arod or shaft 17 journaled in suitable bearings of projecting lugs 18 preferably struclrup from the metal of the upper plate but the shaft 17 and the upper rollers may be mounted in any other desiredmanner as will be readily understood. The shaft 17 is provided at the right hand end of the Braille slate with a ratchet wheel 19 fixed to the shaft and adapted to be engaged by a spring pressed pawl 2O mounted on a slidable member 21 consisting of a short rod aranged in suitable guides 2&2, rl`he guides may consist of loopsstruclr up from the metal of the upper plate andthe lower end of the slidable member 21 is provided with a button or head 23 forming a key which is adapted to be ope 'ated by the finger of a person for sliding the member 21 up- Wardly for causing the pawl 2O to engage the `ratchet wheel and partially rotate the latter andthe rollers of the shaft 17 for feeding the paper a distance substantially equal to the width of the row of indentations.

Each feeding is of a distance slightly great- `er than the width of the row of indentations so that the necessary intervening space is provided between the rows so that the paper may be reversed and indented at the opposite side without injuring the previously indented characters. A check pawl may, of course, be provided to prevent backward movementof the rollers, but this will generally be unnecessary as the friction on the paper will be ample to prevent any accidental movement of the sheet. The slidable member is limited in its operation; by a suitable stop 2st aiul it is returned to its initial position after each operation by a suitable spring 25 mounted on the `upper plate and bearing against the upper end of the slidable member. YJhile the pawl and ratchet device is illustrated in the drawings as onemeans of rotating the rollers to feed the paper it will be apparent that any other suitable means may be employed for transmitting the desired amount of movement from the sliding member 21 to the shaft 17.

In order to enable the sheets to be readily bound after they have been embossed the Braille slate is provided with a punching or Icutting device 26 consisting of a substantially L-shaped spring member having one arm secured by a screw 27 to the upper plate and having its other arm arranged in a slot 28 in the upper plate and adapted to be passed through a sheet of paper and into a slot 29 in the lower plate as clearly illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawing.

The resiliency of the paper punching or cutting device returns the latter automatically to its initial position as soon as it is relieved of the pressure of the linger of the operator. The paper engaging end is provided with a suitable cutting edge' and the arm carrying the cutting edge forms a blade for cutting the slit in the sheet of paper. y The extension A is provided in its upper face with a shallow longitudinal groove presenting an upper concave face and of sufficient depth to cushion that portion of a sheet of paper lying directly above the groove. The groove forms a guide for enabling a blind person to write with pen and ink in substan tially a straight line as the cushioning effect incident to writing on the portion of the paper above the groove will be sufliciently different from writing upon the hard surface of the lower plate either at the top or bottom of the groove to enable the writer to readily lreep in line with the groove and write in substantially a straightline. After one line is written with inl; the paper may be fed forwardly or upwardly to present another portion of the paper to the groove so that successive lines of writing may be made with the lines substantially straight and in proper spaced relation.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudr nal edges, at spaced points to provide an interveningspace for the passage of the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentations and the upperwplate being provided with apertures, `and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a distance substantially equal to the width of the row of indentations.

2. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudinal edges at spaced points to provide an intervening space for the passage of the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentationsand the upper plate being provided with apertures, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a. distance substantially equal to the width of the row of indentations, said means including upper and lower rollers mounted on the said plates and separable bythe raising of theupper plate, a shaft connecting one set of rollers, and manually operable means for rotating the shaft a prede- Y terniined distance.

-platev being provided with apertures, and

manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a distance substantially equal to the widthof the row of indentations, said means including upper and lower rollers mounted on the said plates, a shaftconnecting one set of rollers, a man ually operable slidable member, cooperating means on the shaft and on the member for rotating the shaft a predetermined distance when the member is moved by the operator,

a stop/for limitingr the movement of the slidable member,and a spring for returning the slidable member to its initial position.

4. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said v plates beinghinged together at their top l longitudinal edges at' spaced points to provide an interveningspace for the passage of the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentations and the upper plate being provided with apertures, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between`the plates a distancesubstantially equal to the width of the row of indentations, said means including a pair of relatively small rollers seated in bearing recesses in the lower plate and projecting slightly at the upper face of the same, relatively large upper rollers extending through openings inthe upper plate and co-acting with the lower rollers for feeding a sheet of paper, av shaft mounted on the upper plate and carrying the upper rollers, and manually operable means for rotating the shaft a predetermined distance at each operation.

' V5.*A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extendacross a sheet of paper and receive the same between them,-said plates being hinged together at their top lon* i gitudinal edges atV spaced points to provide an intervening space for the passage of the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentations'and the upper plate being l provided with apertures, and'manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a distance substantially equal toV the width of the row of indentations, said slatebeing provided with guiding means spaced apart a distance substantiallyequal to the size of the groups of indentations for enabling a sheet ofpaper to be placed in the slate in two diierent positions for starting the paper at two different points, whereby a sheet ofy paper is adapted to be reversed after embossing one of the sides thereof to enable the said paper to be lembossed at the other face of the same between the lines of the previously embossed characters.

6. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudinal edges at spaced points to provide an intervening space for the passage of the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentations and the upper plate being provided with apertures, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a distance substantially equal to thev width of the row of indentations, one of the plates of the slate'being recessed at its upper edge to provide two guides spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the size of a group of indentations for enabling a sheet of paper to be vplaced in the'slate in two different positions for starting thepaper at two different points, whereby a sheet of paper is adapted to be reversed after embossing one of the sides thereof to enable' the said paper to be embossed at the other face of the same between the lines of the previously embossed characters. Y v

' 7. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudinal edges at spaced points to provide an intervening space for the passageof the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentations and the upper plate being provided with apertures, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a distanceV substantially equal; to the width of the row of indentations, the upper plate being recessed its upper edgeto provide two guides spaced apart a .distance substantially equal to the size of the groups of indentations for lenabling a sheet of paper to be placed in the slate in two different positionsfor starting the paper at two dierent points, whereby a sheet of paper is adapted to be reversed after` embossing one of the sides thereof to enable the said paper to be embossed at the other face of the same between the lines of the previously embossed characters. Y Y

8. A Braille slate comprisingk upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive vthe same between them, said plates being hinged together attheir top longitudinal edges at spaced points to prO- substantially a straight line by the feel of a vide an intervening space for the passage of pen on the cushioned section of the paper.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set the sheet, the lower plate having a row of groups of indentations and the upper plate being provided with apertures, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates a distance substantially equal to the width of the row of indentations, said lower plate being provided between its ends with a depression forming a recess having side shoulders and adaptedto receive a sheet of paper, the space between the plates y at the paper receiving portion being of sutlicient depth to permit a sheet of paper to be fed between the plates without injuring embossed characters on either or both faces.

9. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to lextend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudinal edges at spaced points to provide an intervening space for the passage of the sheet, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates, said lower plate being provided at the bottom with an extension and having means for cushioning a portion of a sheet of paper in a straight line transversely of the sheet to enable a blind person to write in substantially a straight t line by the feel of a pen on the cushioned section of the paper.

10. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the same between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudinal edges at spaced points to provide an intervening space for the passage of the sheet, and manually operable means for feeding the paper between the plates, said lower plate being provided at the bottom with an extension and having a groove eX- tending along the plate for cushioning a portion of a sheet of paper in a straight line transversely of the sheet to enable a blind person to write in substantially a straight line by the feel of a pen on the cushioned sec tion of the paper.

11. A Braille slate comprising upper and lower plates of substantially oblong form adapted to extend across a sheet of paper and receive the-sam'e between them, said plates being hinged together at their top longitudinal edges atspaced points to provide an intervening space for the passage of the sheet, and manually operable means for feeding the `paper between the plates, said lower plate being provided at the bottom with an extension and having a shallow groove extending along the lower plate and presenting a concave upper face andadapted to cushion a section of a sheet of paper transversely thereof 4to enable a blind person to write n my hand this 26th da y of June, 1928. ROBERT BROWN. 

